UPA government not serious about recovering black money: BJP

New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday attacked the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for not taking “honest steps” to bring back India’s black money stashed abroad and charged it with jeopardising the country’s security and development. “The Justice Ministry official (of Swiss government) has revealed that this fact about the forgery had been communicated to the Indian Government in early 2007 itself. He has said that the Indian government was requested to provide valid documents and to confirm that the case against (Pune-based racehorse breeder) Hassan Ali Khan is a criminal one,” BJP leader Arun Shourie said, in a statement here.

The Swiss government Monday said that it had received forged documents from New Delhi two years ago in connection with an alleged Rs.40,000 crore ($8 billion) money laundering case involving Pune-based racehorse breeder Hassan Ali, who allegedly illegally transferred the money to Swiss bank accounts.

A Swiss government official said that they submitted certain queries to the Indian government April 2007 but had not received a reply even 24 months later. The Supreme Court had also recently censured the central government for its failure to prosecute Ali under the Money Laundering Act.

“Furthermore, it is shocking that the government has suppressed these facts - what it had ostensibly done, and what the Swiss government had communicated to it - from the Supreme Court in its affidavit-in-reply to the PIL that has been filed by concerned citizens,” Shourie said.

“As is well known, suppression of facts from the court - and that too from the highest court of the country - is a grave offence on its own. The government knows this as well, and yet has chosen to suppress them rather than let the court, and, through it, the people get an opportunity to learn the truth,” he said.

“Apart from the sorts of statements by which it tried to mislead the country when (BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K.) Advani raised the demand for getting India’s stolen wealth back, the way it has helped Hassan Ali Khan, exposes its character, and the fact that as long as such a government is in office, the country will never get its wealth back,” he added.

Shourie said it is not just the country’s wealth which is at stake, but also its honour and security.